The Enigma of Bhajanji
We hardly knew you Bhajanji, A year has passed since you unexpectedly left us, A year of intense suffering and slow-burning pain. We searched for you in the corners of the world and heavens, But only in the recesses of our hearts and contours of our minds We saw your smiles and songs well […]
The Marred Gift of God
It is something that the world remembers you after death, But for a moment I would burn our love and reclaim my freedom, As in our times it is a convenience not a dedication. It is a wonder that God still has faith in humans, For they have mutilated the grand design, And changed […]
Where Do We Find You Bhajan?
Where do we find you Bhajan, In the shy Wullar waters of Sopore, Or in the regal Nishat and Shalimar gardens? Your carefully managed long tresses of hair, Well groomed mustache and stylish kurta and pajama, Created the image of a slick socialite or an actor just out of a performance. What were […]
Walking Toward the Sunset
There were times when some people thought I was a pure specimen of life, But such adulation was rare and far between, Most of my life I was a mystery man. They came to me as I was clean and harmless, Curiosity was often rife As how a strange person like me existed, […]
Ode To New Year
Why are we blindly welcoming the arrival of new year, Weren’t last few years our pained existence? Does man have wisdom, Or is he a natural phenomenon unguidable? If man is susceptible to illusions Then why not build a path with them? Personal resolutions and planning Are dousing of a grand fire. […]
Trip To Kashmir 2021
My six-week trip to India was a boutique of reciprocated sentiments for my motherland, especially the part spent in Kashmir. As the nature of human life is, it was not perfect. Along with the flowers there were some thorns. I spent seventeen glorious days in the lap of my mother, Kashmir, in spite of […]
Reminiscences of Bhabi – Kamla Cherwoo
It seems some things in life are destined to fail, especially among those that you cherish the most. When I was a boy, I used to think I would marry a village belle. It was because I thought she would be pure of heart and simple in demeanor compared to a city […]
Book Buzz: The Light Through The Woods
Maharaj Kaul’s The Light Through the Woods: Dreams of Survival of Human Soul in the Age of Technology offers a surreal and philosophical experience intended to revive the slowly diminishing connection between humans, nature, and the divine. In his second book of poetry, out of the six he has written, Maharaj continues to rejuvenate […]
koi ye kah de gulshan gulshan – Jigar Morarabadi. Translated
koī ye kah de gulshan gulshan laakh balā.eñ ek nasheman let someone proclaim from garden to garden there are innumerable calamities but only one nest qātil rahbar qātil rahzan dil sā dost na dil sā dushman expert guide killer highwayman no friend like heart no enemy like heart phuul khile haiñ […]
How I Became a Writer?
When I was born, English was not my first language, Kashmiri was. English was the language of my motherland India’s occupiers, the British, who ruled India for 200 years; so, it became the language of the education imparted in many schools and colleges in India. The story of my love affair with English is more […]